This invention relates in general to optical techniques for measuring periodic structures, and in particular to an improved spectroscopic diffraction-based metrology system for measuring periodic structures, such as grating-type targets on semiconductor wafers.
In conventional techniques, optical microscopes have been used for measuring the critical dimension (“CD”) for semiconductor lithographic processes. However, as the CD becomes smaller and smaller, it cannot be resolved at any practical available optical wavelengths in optical microscopy. Scanning electron microscope technology has extremely high resolution. However, this technology inherently requires large capital expenditures and heavy accessory equipment such as vacuum equipment, which makes it impractical for integration with lithographic processes. Two-theta scatterometers face similar practical challenges for integration, as they require mechanical scanning over a wide range of angles. For this reason, they are slow and difficult to integrate with process equipment.
Ellipsometric techniques have also been used for CD measurements. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,739,909, for example, Blayo et al. describe a method of spectroscopic ellipsometry adapted to measure the width of features in periodic structures. While ellipsometric methods may be useful for some applications, such methods have not been able to measure reflectances from the periodic structures.
None of the above-described techniques is entirely satisfactory. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved technique for measuring periodic structures where the above-described difficulties are alleviated.